Parents bring lawyers to school – the union sounds the alarm

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Parents bring lawyers to school the union sounds the
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  • The Swedish Teachers’ Union is raising the alarm about an increase in parents who bring lawyers to development talks and meetings at school, and this is perceived as threatening and negatively affects the teachers’ work environment.
  • The phenomenon of parents questioning teachers’ decisions with the help of lawyers occurs in both independent and municipal schools and can result in teachers being on sick leave due to the pressured work environment.
  • Education Minister Lotta Edholm describes the situation as unacceptable and points out the need to change school laws and curricula to make it clear that it is the teachers who have the right to make decisions in the school.

    • ⓘ The summary is made with the support of AI tools from OpenAI and quality assured by Aftonbladet. Read our AI policy here.

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    full screen Lawyers focus on both teaching and grades, according to the union Photo: Roald, Berit / NTB

    Parents bring lawyers to the children’s development talks and meetings at school.

    The union of Swedish teachers is now alerting about this.

    – It is very serious. It sends signals that the school is not a school but that it is a service establishment, says Britt-Marie Selin, chairman of Sweden’s Teachers Stockholm.

    Unreasonable demands and parents trying to influence teachers’ decisions and teaching.

    This is how the situation is described for several teachers around the country. But now the teachers’ union in Stockholm is sounding the alarm about a phenomenon that they have seen more and more of. Parents bringing family lawyers to developmental interviews, something like Göteborgs-Posten, was the first to report on.

    “On all levels”

    Britt-Marie Selin is chairman of Sweden’s Teachers Stockholm. She testifies to several examples where family lawyers show up at the school.

    – It happens at all levels in the school system. It may be about students whom staff look down upon and then we have an obligation to report to the social authorities. Then parents can show up with people they consider to be their legal representative to question and demand that a report be withdrawn, says Britt Marie Selin.

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    full screenBritt-Marie Selin, president of Sweden’s Teachers Stockholm. Photo: Jakob Åkersten Brodén/TT

    “Ends up on sick leave”

    Britt-Marie Selin mentions that there were various forms of threats. It may also involve family lawyers being included in school teaching.

    – They have exerted influence on the grades and demand to see test results, they demand to see how the teacher has assessed various assignments. You end up in a working environment that is unreasonable and unsafe, I would say.

    How are the teachers who have been involved in this?

    – There are a lot of teachers who end up on sick leave after this type of incident.

    Different types of schools

    There have also been cases where parents brought family lawyers to the children’s development interviews.

    – In the School Act, there are sections that govern when and it is regulated such that it is a conversation between guardian, student and teacher.

    According to Sweden’s Teachers, family lawyers can appear unannounced and this can happen at all types of schools – independent schools as well as municipal schools.

    – It is very difficult to act on the spot in the moment. It is not possible to carry out the conversation, you have a responsibility towards the student. At the same time, the student ends up in a very difficult situation and you expose the student, I would say, says Britt-Marie Selin.

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    full screenEducation Minister Lotta Edholm calls the development unacceptable and wants to change the Education Act. Photo: Björn Lindahl

    In a comment to TT, Education Minister Lotta Edholm (L) says that the development is “unacceptable”.

    “School teams and curricula therefore need to be rewritten so that it becomes clear that it is the teachers who decide – not the students or their parents. Principals and principals also need to support the teachers in this and set clear guidelines for the guardians and make it clear that the school is not a service establishment,” says Lotta Edholm in a comment.

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